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STANDARDIZATION 

of RURAL SCHOOLS 

in KANSAS 




W. D. ROSS, 

STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF 
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

1917 

eel u C. a-T I '&-AA. 



KANSAS STATE PRINTING PLANT. 

W. R. Smith, State Printer. 

TOPEKA. 1917. 

t-7213 






D, of D- 
JUL 24 191? 






SUPERIOR SCHOOLS. 



In order to give proper recognition to rural schools of the best type, 
those that more than fulfill the requirements for a standard school, there 
is established, beginning with the school year of 1917-'18, a higher classi- 
fication, to be known as superior schools. 

The superior school must meet all the requirements for a standard 
school exceptionally well, with the following additional requirements: 

A schoolhouse of wholly approved architectural type, modern in all its 
appointments. 

Single desks of four or five sizes, or adjustable desks of three sizes. 

A library of at least 100 volumes of unquestionable quality, with at least 
10 selected for each grade. 

A good musical instrument. 

A reasonable amount of playground equipment. 

Practical application of the principles of school hygiene and sanitation. 

Some systematic attention given to the teaching of manual training, home 
economics, or general handiwork. 

A superior teacher holding a state certificate, a first-grade county cer- 
tificate, or a normal-training certificate. (A high-school graduate with 
a second-grade certificate and at least one year's experience will be 
accepted.) 

Teacher's salary at least $480 per year. 

An enrollment of not fewer than ten pupils, with a high per cent of at- 
tendance and no habitual tardiness. 

A superior school will be awarded a diploma and metal plate similar 
to those awarded to standard schools, and the recognition thus given will 
be subject to withdrawal whenever the school fails to maintain a high 
degree of excellence. 

(3) 



\ 



REPORTS OF RURAL-SCHOOL SUPERVISORS. 



The law providing for the appointment of rural-school supervisors 
became operative July 1, 1915. In accordance with its provisions, the 
State Board of Education in July of that year resolved to undertake the 
standardization of rural schools, and adopted the following statement 
of requirements for a standard school: 

REQUIREMENTS FOR A STANDARD RURAL SCHOOL. 

Yar'd and Outbuildings. 

1. School grounds at least one acre, and kept in good condition. 

2. Good approaches to the house. 

3. Trees and shrubs, where climatic conditions will permit. 

4. Two well-kept, widely separated outhouses, with screened entrances. 

5. Convenient fuel house properly located. 

6. Well where possible. 

The SchooUtouse. 

1. House well built, in good repair, and painted. 

2. Good foundation. 

3. Well lighted. Light from left side or left and rear. 

4. Adjustable window shades. 

5. Suitable cloakrooms for boys and girls. 

6. Attractive interior decorations. 

7. Good blackboards (slate preferred), set about 26 inches from floor. 

8. Heated by a room heater and ventilator properly placed, or by base- 

ment furnace which provides for proper ventilation. 

9. Floor and interior clean and tidy. 

Furnishings and Supplies. 

1. Desks suitable for children of all ages, and properly placed. 

2. Good teacher's desk and chair. 

3. Good bookcase. 

4. A good collection of juvenile books suitable as aids to school work 

as well as general reading. 

5. Set of good maps, a globe, and a dictionary. 

6. Sanitary water supply provided by the district board, thermometer, 

sweeping preparation. 

7. Sand table. 

The Organization. 

1. School well organized. 

2. Classification and daily register well kept. 

3. Definite daily program. 

4. Attendance regular and punctual. 

5. Discipline good. 

The Teacher. 

1. Must hold a state certificate, a first-grade county certificate, a normal- 
training certificate, or must at least hold a second-grade certificate 
and be a graduate of a four-year high school. 

(5) 



6 State Superintendent of 'Public Instruction. 

2. Must receive at least the average salary of the county, and in no case 

less than $385 per year. 

3. Ranked by the county superintendent as a good or superior teacher. 

4. Must read Teachers' Reading Circle books, attend institutes and as- 

sociations, and in other respects show a proper professional spirit. 

To this work of standardization the supervisors have given most of their 
attention. As a means of getting the matter before the people of the 
state they have addressed school-board conventions and teachers' meet- 
ings in more than sixty counties, and in numerous community meetings 
have sought to interest the people in a campaign for rural-school im- 
provement. 




District No. 17, Allen county. 



During the year 792 schools were visited in 67 counties — an average 
of about 12 schools to the county. Of this number 119 were approved as 
standard schools, as follows: 



Allen 1 

Anderson 2 

Atchison 3 

Barber 1 

Brown 3 

Butler 1 

Clark 1 

Cloud 1 

Coflfey 1 

Dickinson 3 

Douglas 6 

Elk 1 

Finnev 3 

Ford ' 3 



Franklin 8 

Geary 1 

Harvey 1 

Jackson 1 

Jewell 1 

Johnson 1 

Kingman 1 

Kiowa 3 

Lincoln 1 

McPherson 7 

Montgomery 5 

Morris 2 

Osage 1 

Ottawa 1 



Pawnee 3 

Reno 31 

Rice 4 

Riley 2 

Russell 1 

Saline 2 

Sedgwick 1 

Shawnee 4 

Stafford 1 

Sumner 1 

Trego 1 

Wabaunsee 3 

Woodson 1 



A study of the geographical distribution of these schools discloses 
some interesting facts: The sixth principal meridian divides the state 
almost equally so far as the number of schools is concerned, but west 
of this line 69 standard schools are found and east of it only 50. If a 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



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8 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



line be drawn east and west through the center of the state only 42 
standard schools will be found in the northern half, while there are 77 
in the southern. Grouped by congressional districts, there are found in 
the first district, 11; in the second, 18; in the third, 6; in the fourth, 8; 
in the fifth, 10; in the sixth, 4; in the seventh, 51; and in the eighth, 11. 
More than a fourth of the entire number of standard schools are found 
in Reno county, while 41 counties have one or more. 

When it is remembered that Kansas has approximately 8000 schools 
eligible to standardization, and that the first year's work discovered but 
119 that measured up to the requirements, it is apparent that rural- 
school conditions in the state are far from ideal. Criticism of our schools 




District No. 61, Douglas county. 



is commonly directed toward the efficiency of the teaching and the quality 
of work being done. That much of this criticism is merited can not be 
denied, and the need of better qualified teachers with a broader vision 
of their opportunities for service is a constant and vital need. But a 
year's observation in all parts of the state has convinced the supervisors 
that, taking the state as a whole, the quality of the teaching is far 
superior to the physical condition of the school plant. 

The standard school seeks to improve the quality of the work by 
requiring of its teachers qualifications somewhat higher than the mini- 
mum legal requirements for a teacher; and the ambition to be known 
as a standard teacher inspires better preparation and a wholesome pro- 
fessional attitude. It seeks to improve the physical condition of the 



standardization of Rural Schools. 




Old "Bonnacord,'' Dickinson county. 

schools by placing before the various communities a concrete, tangible 
example of what a school should be, and through a systematic campaign 
of instruction to lead the people of the state to desire better conditions 
and to be satisfied with nothing less than the best. 




New "Bonnacord," Dickinson county. 



10 state Superintendent of Public Instruction. 




District No. 62, Douglas county. "Before taking." 




District No. 62, Douglas county. "After taking 



Standardizatio7i of Rural Schools. 



11 



Among the rural-school conditions that most frequently merit adverse 
criticism e. few may be mentioned: 

The unsanitary, and frequently disgraceful, condition of the school 
toilets. In this connection an expression of appreciation is due the State 
Board of Health and county health officers in certain counties for their 
efficient work in promoting better school sanitation. 

Lack of proper heating and ventilation. In a very large number of 
schools the unsightly and unsatisfactory old stove still occupies the place 
of honor in the center of the room. 

Improper lighting. While most of the newer buildings have been 
planned with some thought for the proper arrangement of windows, in 
some counties it seems to be the rule rather than the exception to have 
windows on three, or even four, sides of the schoolroom. 




District No. 8, Brown county. 



Improper seating. Frequently a school is found that has only seats of 
the larger sizes, others have only the smaller sizes, and still others have 
the largest and smallest sizes with none between. The arrangement and 
spacing are often the result of guesswork, with little consideration for 
the health or comfort of the children who are to occupy the seats. 

Blackboards of poor quality and placed too high. Unfortunately, even 
in some of the newest buildings, those responsible seem to overlook the 
fact that the blackboards are to be used by the small children as well as 
the large. One school was found in which the blackboards were fifty 
inches from the floor, and many are forty inches or more, which is at 
least a foot above the proper height. 



12 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



Poor library facilities. In this particular it must be confessed that 
our schools are lamentably deficient. Many schools have no library of 
any kind, while others have books so ill suited to the needs and mental 
capacity of the pupils as to be absolutely useless. 

Lack of pride in the appearance of the schoolhouse and surroundings. 
There are attractive schoolhouses and beautiful, well-kept school grounds 
in nearly every county, but they are a pitiful minority compared with 
those that are otherwise. Treeless, barren school grounds, badly pre- 
served, once-painted buildings, atrociously colored walls, no pictures or 
worse than none, general conditions indicating carelessness or slovenli- 
ness that tend to beget similar habits in the pupils — these are to be 
found far too frequently in every part of the state. 

Overcrowded prograrns. The addition of new subjects to the course of 
study, while retaining all the old, has brought about a condition that 




District No. 5, Rice county. 



makes it difficult for a teacher to plan her daily program so that classes 
have sufficient time for recitation. The average number of daily recita- 
tions in the one-teacher schools is above thirty, and occasionally it 
reaches forty. It should be possible for the teacher to plan her program 
so that the maximum number of recitations will be considerably less than 
the average at present. 

The standard school is made a test of the community interest and 
pride. It carries with it no financial remuneration and no other special 
inducement than the satisfaction that comes to a community in having 
its school receive state-wide recognition as an out-standing good school. 
Moreover, the reasonableness of the requirements appeals to the average 
individual who is at all interested in the welfare of the school. He feels 
that in meeting the requirements he is not only bringing honor to his 
community, but he is contributing to the well-being of the children and 
the general efficiency of the school. 



Standardizatio7i of Rural Schools. 



13 



It was inevitable that a close investigation of our schools would 
reveal many unsatisfactory conditions, but on the whole the year's work 
gives much cause for gratification, not only for what has been accom- 
plished, but for the outlook it affords for the future. Wherever the 
supervisors have gone they have met with a most cordial reception. 
Both teachers and patrons have shown a willingness, and even eager- 
ness, to cooperate in working out the desired school improvements. Al- 
ready there is seen in the unusual activity in schoolhouse building an 
indication of awakened interest. 

While comparatively few schools were recognized as standard during 
the year, practically all the schools visited have made some improve- 
ments looking toward standardization, and doubtless a much larger num- 
ber will qualify during the second year. It is reasonable to expect that 




District No. 7, Brown county. 



as the idea of the standard school becomes more generally implanted 
in the minds of the people, the number of such schools will increase 
more rapidly from year to year, and that in our rural schools as a whole 
will be seen marked improvement along the line of better buildings, 
better equipment, better teaching, and an awakened and strengthened 
school interest. 



14 



State Superintendent of J^ublic Instruction. 



STANDARD RURAL SCHOOLS. 

(Reprint of a bulletin which has been published and distributed to school officers.) 



The Kansas legislature of 1915 gave to the State Board of Education 
"exclusive and sole authority to define official standards of excellence in 
all matters relating to the administration, course of study and instruc- 
tion in rural schools, graded schools, and high schools, and to accredit 
those schools in which the specified standards are maintained." To make 




District No. 43, Jackson county. 



it possible to carry out the foregoing provision the act further authorized 
the appointment of two high-school and two rural-school supervisors to 
work under the direction of the state superintendent of public instruction. 
It is the purpose of this bulletin to set forth the requirements of the 
State Board of Education for a standard rural school, with explanations 
and suggestions to enable schools to plan intelligently to meet those re- 
quirements. The rural-school supervisors will go into any county on 



Standai^dization of Rural Schooh. 



15 



invitation of the county superintendent and with him visit such schools 
as in the judgment of the superintendent most nearly meet the require- 
ments, or wherever there may be a reasonable prospect of arousing in- 
terest in rural-school improvement. In these visits the supervisors will 
be glad to meet school boards and patrons and discuss with them matters 
relating to the improvement of the schools. A report of each visit is 
made to the district board, and a copy filed with the county superin- 
tendent. 

To such schools as meet the requirements outlined herein a diploma 
will be granted certifying to the fact and a metal plate bearing the 
words "Standard School" will be placed above the door. This recogni- 
tion is given for one year, and will be renewed annually so long as 
satisfactory conditions are maintained. But should a school, once ap- 
proved, fail to maintain satisfactory conditions, the diploma and plate 
will be forfeited. 

The plan of standardization set forth herein is in operation in a 
number of other states, notably in Illinois, from whose successful ex- 
perience some of the suggestions here given are drawn. 




District No. 37, Ottawa county. 



THE SCHOOL SITE. 

The nature and care of the school site are important points in the 
matter of standardization ; hence, in case the present situation is an 
undesirable one, it would be well for a district to consider carefully the 
selection of a better site before erecting a new building. The very fact 
that it is difficult to make a change renders it the more imperative to 
exercise the utmost care and consideration in the choice of location in 
order that the school may best serve its purpose in every way. Some 
points deserving consideration are accessibility, sightliness, drainage, 
convenience in obtaining water, possibility of beautification, and oppor- 
tunities for play. Should a poor site be chosen, there remains little to be 
done but to make the best of a bad situation. 



16 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



School grounds must consist of at least one acre — this is specified in 
the school laws — but a larger site is desirable in order that there may be 
ample and suitable playgrounds, a recognized present-day necessity. 

The soil should be of such a nature as to permit a school garden for 
experiments or demonstrations in connection with agricultural work, and 
to make possible the growth of trees, shrubs, etc., where climatic con- 
ditions do not prevent. A suitable site is one that would be acceptable 
for a home site, one neither upon the top of a rocky, barren hill, nor on 
low, wet ground that can not be drained. The best situation is one having 
a slight elevation, or, second, one comparatively level but with sufficient 
drainage to make it dry and healthful. In no case can a site be deemed 
satisfactory if there is a depression in which stagnant water may stand. 




District No. 33, Jackson county. 



The grounds must be kept in a neat and sightly condition, free from 
weed patches, rubbish, and litter, with a yard well kept and not rankly 
overgrown; and when the grounds are surrounded by a fence, this and the 
gate must be kept in good order. 

APPROACHES. 

There should be a good walk, from three to six feet wide, from the 
road to the schoolhouse, and one of suitable v/idth from the house to all 
outbuildings. These walks should be constructed of cement, brick, or lum- 
ber, the preference of material being in the order named. The long 
walks to outbuildings may be made of cinders or gravel, though these 
are much less desirable. 

TREES AND SHRUBS. 

Barren, treeless school grounds are as unattractive as similar home 
surroundings. Trees add beauty, comfort, and protection, and a few 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



17 



should be found on every school site where it is at all possible for them 
to grow. Every part of the state has its native species; and, since in 
many portions other species grow readily, there should be little difficulty, 
at least in the eastern two-thirds of the state, in securing this most 
desirable feature of school-ground improvement. On a small site the 
trees should be confined to the sides and corners of the lot in order not to 
interfere seriously with playground space. The Agricultui'al College, and 
the county agents in those counties employing them, will gladly offer 
suggestions and plans as to desirable species and effective planting to 
any school board making such request. 

THE SCHOOLHOUSE. 

It is apparent that a great many Kansas school buildings will not, at 
the present time, meet the requirements for standardization. The fa- 




District No. 31, Marshall county. 



miliar box-car type of building, possessing, as some one has said, "all 
the architectural beauty of a cow barn," is still too common. But the 
better of these buildings can, without great expense, be remodeled to 
bring them within the requirements; and the poorer ones are rapidly 
being replaced by model, up-to-date structures. In planning new build- 
ings, as well as remodeling the old, the specifications for a standard 
school should be kept in mind. 

A new schoolhouse should be designed to meet the needs of the coming 
generation as well as the present, and the thoughtful school board will 
recognize the changing ideals in rural education and make plans accord- 
ingly. The type of school building that was sufficient for the needs of a 
generation ago will not be sufficient a generation hence, nor is it sufficient 
—3 



18 



State Superintendent of I^ublic Instruction. 



to-day. In appearance and construction the rural schoolhouse should 
compare with the best homes in the community. "The country school- 
house should be beautiful," says Doctor Dressier. "This does not mean 
that it needs to be expensive. Frequently those who have much money to 
spend on a school building do it so thoughtlessly as to destroy all pos- 
sibility of beauty. Towers and turrets have no place on a country school- 




VANSICKLE SCHOOL 

RENO coursTy dist. lo 



A good plan for a one-room building. 



house. There is a power in beauty closely allied to righteousness. If a 
beautiful rural schoolhouse could be constructed in every neighborhood 
it would not be long before the people would see and feel its power. . . . 
Practically all the rural schoolhouses constructed in the last quarter of a 
century have been copied after others in adjoining neighborhoods, and 
hence little progress has been made. Year after year new houses have 
been built perpetuating the evils of unhygienic construction and the 
horrors of the architectural ugliness in almost every detail. . . . This 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



19 



emphasis on the beauty of school architecture is not for the purpose of de- 
claring it to be the prime essential. Yet none of us should forget that 
beauty is in its own nature useful. Unfortunately, those who have built 
our country schoolhouses have for the most part given little or no thought 
to real beauty. Some have attempted to adorn, but these adornments fre- 
quently only accentuate the lack of beauty and harmony. Hundreds of 
rural-school buildings show that if the roof and sides, the height and 




the width, had been fittingly proportioned the one to the other, much 
money would have been saved and far more beautiful buildings would 
have been obtained. Ugliness in rural-school buildings has, therefore, 
not only cost money, but has corrupted the youth by staring them in the 
face daily. Simple beauty is not expensive; it is by its very nature eco- 
nomical of material. . . . Beauty is more than economical; it is edu- 
cational in the highest sense. Beauty is not for the rich; neither is it for 



20 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



the poor. It is for all. A beautiful school building, appropriately located, 
will exert a quiet but persistent educational influence on all who ai-e asso- 
ciated with it, in school or out. Its unconscious reflex influence will enter 
into the life of the neighborhood and of necessity express itself in many 
ways. All who see a beautiful and appropriate school building are in- 
clined to be more loyal to the cause it represents and less satisfied with 
ugliness anywhere. The district schoolhouse is the only building in the 
community that belongs to all, and in a definite way it reflects the civic 
standards of all. It is, therefore, important to express through it the 
highest attainable ideals of beauty and fitness so that it may serve all 
acceptably." 

The modern one-teacher school calls for more than a single classroom, 
yet the classroom is the unit upon which the planning of the building 




Vansiokle school. !;• ii 



depends. The size of the building will be determined by the number of 
pupils to be accommodated and the extent to which the building is used 
as a community social center. Experience has shown that for best re- 
sults the classroom should not exceed 32 feet in length, 26 feet in width, 
and 13 feet in height. It should contain a minimum of 16 square feet 
of floor space for each pupil enrolled, and 200 cubic feet of air space per 
pupil. In addition to the classroom and necessary cloakrooms, a library 
or work room is a very valuable part of the modern school plant; and 
if the district is able to provide a basement it will also be found very 
convenient to use this space for furnace, coal room, inside toilet rooms, 
manual-training equipment, etc. For school purposes the familiar teach- 
er's platform is valueless and should be omitted. 



standardization of Rwal Schools. 



21 



DISPLAY OF FLAG, c 

Since the public school is an institution established by the state and 
governed by law, and having as one of its chief objects the training of 
boys and girls for citizenship, it is fitting that the United States flag 
should be continually before the pupils as a reminder of their obligation 
to the state and as an incentive to patriotic conduct. Therefore, in every 
standard school the display of the United States flag is required in ac- 
cordance with the following provision of the law of the state of Kansas: 

"It shall be the duty of the school authorities of every public school 
in the several cities, towns, villages and school districts of this state to 
purchase a suitable United States flag, flagstaff, and the necessary ap- 
pliances therefor, and to display such flag upon, near or in the public- 
school building during school hours and at such other times as such school 
authorities may direct. 

"The said school authorities shall establish rules and regulations for 
the proper custody, care and display of the flag, and, when the weather 




District No. 78, McPhersou couuty. 



will not permit it to be otherwise displayed, it shall be placed conspicu- 
ously in the principal room of the schoolhouse." (Sections 1 and 2, chap- 
ter 319, Laws of 1907.) 

LIGHTING. 

The increase in defective vision among school children is undoubtedly 
due in a large measure to improperly lighted schoolrooms. It is not so 
much a question of the amount of light, for most of our Kansas school 
buildings have a sufficient quantity; but when the light is admitted 
from two, three, or even four sides of the room, as is too frequently the 
case, there is always the disagreeable cross-light or direct glare in the 
face of the pupils, which inevitably results in eyestrain and attendant 
headaches. It is universally agreed that light from only one side of the 
schoolroom is best, and that the light should come from the left of the 



22 State ,Supe7'intendent of Public Instruction. 

pupils. The windows should be high and closely banked so as to give the 
effect of one large window, and the glass area should be not less than 
one-fifth of the floor area. Short, high windows in the rear are permis- 
sible and under some conditions are very desirable. For sanitary reasons 
it is well to have direct sunlight admitted into the room at some time 
during the day; and hence, if the room is lighted from the north, short 
windows in the rear will supply the direot sunlight when needed, and 
can also be used for ventilation in hot weather. Because of the difficulty 
in regulating and controlling the glare of the sun, light from the south 
is probably less satisfactory than from other directions. 

All windows should be fitted with opaque shades. of tan, ivory white, 
or light green. Adjustable shades are recommended as most satisfactory 
in meeting the varying light conditions. Double rollers may be used, or 
two shades may be securely attached at the middle of the window, one 




Joint district No. 25, Franklin-Anderson counties. 

to be drawn up and the other down. If the common roller shades are 
used, reasonably satisfactory results may be obtained by fastening the 
roller at the bottom and raising the shade by means of a cord and pulley. 
The common method of attaching the shades at the top of the windows 
makes it impossible to exclude the lower light and retain the light from 
above. 

CLOAKROOMS. 

This is a part of the school plant too frequently neglected. It is one 
function of the school to teach children the proprieties of life, but no 
teacher can make a room appear attractive and well cared for when all 
kinds of wraps are hung upon its walls. There should be separate 
cloakrooms for boys and girls; for -girls, especially, need more privacy 
than is possible with the single room. It is best that these cloakrooms 
open directly into the classroom in order that the teacher may exercise 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



23 



closer supervision over them and thus lessen the difficulty in discipline. 
The problem of heating and ventilating the cloakrooms can be simplified 
by the use of skeleton doors. There should be no opening from the vesti- 
bule into the cloakrooms, but the vestibule should be for entrance to the 
classroom only. There should be closed shelves or a built-in cupboard 
for dinner pails and other unsightly but necessary articles. Open shelves 
and floors are not suitable for such uses. 

INTERIOR DECORATIONS. 

A beautiful and attractive interior adds much to the pleasure of 
school life. Walls covered with a great mass of odds and ends, of cheap 
calendars and highly colored pictures, do not inspire one with a love for 
the beautiful nor serve as a standard of good taste. Not many schools 
can aff'ord expensive pictures, and, fortunately, this is not necessary in 




District No. 59, Brown county. 



order to secure good ones. Large, beautiful prints of famous paintings 
may be had in the soft brown or sepia tones for about seventy-five cents. 
Cheaper ones may be had in black. The Perry Pictures Company, 
Maiden, Mass., makes a specialty of these and will send illustrated 
catalogues and lists free on application. They will also send small sam- 
ples of the various kinds which they make. Pictures of noted authors 
and statesmen may be secured from the same source. Such pictures, 
covered with glass and framed in plain, neat frames — avoiding gaudy, 
cheap gilt — will exert a strong, if silent, influence for good morals and 
good taste. This is especially true if an occasional attempt is made to 
impress the pupils with the thought which the pictures are intended to 
convey or the motive which inspired the artist's brush. Pictures which 
otherwise might not excite attention may thus become intensely interest- 
ing, even to young children. 



24 



State Superinteyident of Public Instructioyi. 



Three or four good pictures are far better than many indifferent ones, 
and their choice is an important matter because of their permanency. 
Any picture truly worthy of a place on the schoolroom wall is worthy 
of proper framing. Pictures unprotected by glass are soon soiled or 
injured. There is no objection to pictures of scenery in colors if these 
are soft in tone, but those that are gaudy and highly colored are to be 
strictly avoided. 

To help both teacher and pupil to a better understanding and appre- 
ciation of good pictures a few art books are placed in the list recom- 
mended for the school library. 

WALLS AND CEILING. 

The color and nature of walls and ceiling have much to do with the 
cheeriness and attractiveness of a school room. It should be unnecessary 
to say that they ought always to be clean. Likewise, they should never 




District No. 35, Montgomery county. 



be made dark or gloomy. This does frequently occur with the idea 
that they will remain clean longer or will not show dirt, both mistaken 
ideas. The various tones of tan or very light brown are excellent side- 
wall colors, but soft medium green or a very light gray are good. Blue, 
either dark or light, barn or dark red, and very dark grays are to be 
avoided on walls, ceiling, or woodwork. Natural or medium color finish 
is best for woodwork. A light ceiling, lighter than the side walls, is 
desirable, as it then reflects the light downward and helps to lighten 
the room. Very light tan, cream and ivory white are good. Glaring 
white walls are objectionable. 



Standardization of Rural Schools. 



25 



BLACKBOARDS. 

Unquestionably the most satisfactory material for school blackboai'ds 
is natural slate. While the relative first cost is considerably higher than 
that of some other materials, the amount of blackboard surface required 
in the average school is so small that the total cost is by no means prohibi- 
tive. With slate the first cost is the only expense, and when properly set 
it affords a satisfactory blackboard surface practically for all time to 
come. Next to slate, probably the best material is a prepared slate cement 
which can be mixed and spread on as ordinary plaster. If put on prop- 
erly this is reasonably permanent, and it will not buckle nor draw away 
from the wall as many of the pulp or cardboard preparations are in- 
clined to do. The amount of blackboard surface required will vary with 




District No. 



the size of the school, but in general it should approximate four square 
feet per pupil, with a minimum of twenty linear feet. 

The proper placing of blackboards should receive more attention than 
it has in the past. It is with the smaller pupils that the use of the 
blackboard is most profitable and most essential, and yet too frequently 
the blackboards are set so high that the smaller pupils can with difficulty 
use them at all. To accommodate pupils of all ages the blackboard should 
be not less than forty-two inches wide and set about twenty-six inches 
from the floor. Good chalk troughs, not mere ledges, are a very essential 
part of a blackboard. Only dustless crayon of a good quality and noise- 
less erasers should be used. 



26 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



HEATING AND VENTILATION. 

No part of the school equipment is more vital to the physical well- 
being of the children than the heating and ventilation. Confinement in 
an improperly heated and poorly ventilated room saps the vitality and 
undermines the health of both teacher and pupils and decreases their 




District No. 16, Cowley couiu:>- ^■■^- ul 




District No. 16, Cowley county. Tlie new. 



M^orking power. A uniform temperature of from 68 to 70 degrees should 
be maintained in all parts of the room — a thing impossible with an ordi- 
nary stove placed in the center of the room. To secure an even dis- 
tribution of the heat there must be free circulation of the air in the 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



27 



room, but that alone is not sufficient. There should also be provision for 
bringing in the fresh air from outside the building, heating it, and re- 
moving the foul air. This can be accomplished very satisfactorily through 
a modern room heater and ventilator or a basement furnace properly 
installed. The fresh air from outside is brought in through the furnace 
or heater, and when heated rises to the top of the room, while the colder 
foul air settles to the floor, whence it is drawn off through the foul-air 
vent. This provides both heat and ventilation through the distribution 
and exchange of air. Any system of heating that does not also provide 
for ventilation is not entirely satisfactory. If a room heater is used it 
should be placed in a corner of the room, preferably a rear corner, out 
of the way of both teacher and pupils. If a basement furnace is used 
the registers should be placed in the side walls rather than the floor, 
where they will unavoidably accumulate dust and schoolroom trash of 
various kinds. The foul-air vent should always be located near the floor. 




District No. 21, Kiowa county. 



CLEANLINESS. 

The schoolhouse and surroundings should be kept as clean as a good 
housekeeper keeps her home. This will require more than an annual or 
semiannual house cleaning. The floor should be scrubbed and the walls, 
furniture, and woodwork properly cleaned at frequent intervals. A 
sweeping compound should be used to keep down the dust while sweep- 
ing, and a damp or slightly oiled cloth used for dusting. A feather 
duster, which simply scatters the dust to permit it to settle again, should 
not be tolerated. Soap and water, fresh air and sunshine are among 
the best known agencies for preventing disease, and no amount of fumi- 
gation will take the place of cleanliness in making the school building 
sanitary. A teacher should be a good housekeeper. Failure in this par- 
ticular implies careless and inferior work in other respects. 



28 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



SWEEPING PREPARATION. 

Dust is a recognized source and harborer of disease germs, an irri- 
tant of the delicate lining of the nose, throat and lungs, and its presence 
is the chief objection to doing school janitor work. A proper sanitary 
condition in this respect can be much more easily maintained, and the 
sweeping and care of the room rendered much easier, by the use of an 
inexpensive sweeping compound, several kinds of which are on the mar- 
ket. Therefore, the use of a sweeping preparation is made obligatory 
in a standardized school. 

teacher's desk and chair. 
No specific requirements will be made on this topic save that the desk 
should be a substantial one, large enough to contain and accommodate 
the teacher's books, supplies, and records, and provided with lockable 




Obee school, district No. 23, Reno county. 



drawers or other suitable compartments to protect the contents from 
dust and mice and from disturbance by careless or malicious persons. 
The chair should be strong, comfortable and, preferably, adjustable. 

DESKS and seating. 

The importance of proper seating is a subject almost wholly neglected 
in the rural schools, but it is deserving of careful consideration because 
it has direct bearing upon comfort and hygienic conditions. Improper 
seating may lay the foundation for spinal curvature and deformities of 
the limbs, both upper and lower. 

There should be desks suitable for pupils of all ages, the sizes ranging 
from No. 6 to No. 2. Few or none of No. 1 are really necessary in rural 
schools, as this is the largest or adult size. No. 6 is the smallest, and 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



29 



but few of them are required. It should never happen, but it frequently 
does, that there are no desks larger than No. 3, or, on the other hand, 
none smaller than this size, in a rural school. The omission of the 
smaller sizes, Nos. 5 and 6, frequently means that none of the pupils, with 
the exception of the very largest, are ever seated properly ; for no sooner 
has one grown into a seat than he is pushed on to make room for some 
smaller person. Sometimes not only are the desks of the wrong size 
but they are not correctly spaced. The correct distances between edge 
of desk and back of seat are about these: Nos. 6 and 5, nine inches; 
No. 4, ten inches; No. 3, eleven inches; No. 2, twelve inches; and No. 1, 
thirteen inches to fourteen inches. These spaces insure the comfort of 
the pupil when studying or writing. 

Only seats of one size, or at most of two sizes, should be placed in the 
same row. Preferably, the smallest seats should be placed nearest the 




District No. 16, Stafford county. 



source of light, as this arrangement does not tend to obstruct the light 
from any one. In poorly heated rooms, however, it might be better to 
place the smaller pupils in the center of the room for the sake of warmth. 

Hygienic seating demands that the child should be able to place his 
feet flat upon the floor when sitting at rest in his seat, and that the 
desk be of such a height that it does not necessitate either a stooping 
position or the elevation of one shoulder above the other in writing. No 
one should be obliged to sit in a seat where his knees can not go under 
the desk comfortably when he sits erect. All of these objectionable posi- 
tions are conducive to physical deformities as well as to much discomfort. 
Physical discomfort tends to make work poorer and discipline harder. 

Desks should be so placed that the light may come from the left or 
from the left and the back. Under no circumstances should they be 



30 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



placed facing windows. Single desks are always desirable, and where 
new ones are to be purchased no other sort should be considered. Gener- 
ous aisles make movements and discipline much easier. Between rows of 
No. 1 and No. 2 desks, twenty-four inches is as little as should be 
allowed; between rows of Nos. 3 and 4 there should be twenty inches, and 
between sizes 5 and 6 eighteen inches. An aisle of three or four feet is 
desirable between desks and rear or side blackboards, and space as ample 
as conditions will permit should be left in the front of the room. 

BOOKCASE AND BOOKS. 

Many a beginning of a school library made by some earnest, hard- 
working teacher has been destroyed or greatly damaged through the 
lack of a proper place for the care and protection of the books. No 




Larkinburg, Atchison-Jackson counties. 



school should be without the benefits to be derived from a good working 
library, be it large or small, the first requisite for which is a suitable 
closet, case, or cupboard where the books may be easily accessible, but 
protected from dust and mice and from careless usage. This should be 
provided with a good lock and key. In modern and newly erected build- 
ings it is highly desirable that a separate small room be set aside as a 
library room; but where this is not feasible it is still possible to have 
books and bookcase. 

No school is equipped to do satisfactory work which has no other 
source of information than the textbooks, no matter how excellent they 
may be. If one becomes particularly interested in a subject, he should 
have sources from which he may secure additional information. If a 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



31 



subject seems rather dry and tedious, there should be contributory 
material which will tend to make it more simple and attractive. Pupils 
need to be taught to see a matter from different viewpoints. They need 
to learn to read widely and well. The school owes it to the pupil to 
furnish a goodly supply of helpful, wholesome reading matter which 
will appeal to pupils of all grades. It is highly important that the lower 
• gi'ades be not neglected in this matter. The reading habit is formed in 
youth, and a taste for good reading can more easily be cultivated then 
than at a later age. Also, the lower grades frequently have more time 
for such supplemental work than the more advanced grades. A rural- 
school library should be planned to serve the community as well as the 
school. This can be possible in any adequate degree only when a rea- 
sonable sum is expended annually to build up and properly maintain 




District No. 45, Montgomery county. 



the library and when the books are chosen with the thought of the pur- 
pose which they are to serve. A collection of books alone does not make 
a proper school library. Often the books are good enough in themselves, 
but they are too difficult, too technical, too largely fiction, or otherwise 
unsuitable for the pupils who are expected to use them. Unless a library 
is quite large it is well to avoid "sets" of books or many from a single 
author. There are usually one or two best books of a writer, which are 
enough for the small library. 

The library should consist, first, of supplemental reading matter, 
several sets if possible, for grades one to four. Nature study, elemen- 
tary history and biography, geographical readers, and agriculture should 
be represented generously. Fairy tales, mythology, and wholesome ad- 
ventures will supply a need which otherwise might be satisfied by read- 



32 



State Supermtendeyit of ^Public Instruction. 



ing with which it were better that the child should not become acquainted. 
Pure or true literature may be added as need and appreciation will 
warrant, but one must not forget that there must be material that pupils 
and patrons will read because they want to do so and not because they 
must. Those who do not have first-hand practical knowledge of the 
question will do well to consult those of wider reading and experience 
and carefully prepared library lists in making up their own libraries. 
At least ten books for each grade represented in the school are necessary 
for recognition as a satisfactory beginning, but a much larger librai'y is 
exceedingly desirable. 

MAPS, GLOBE, AND DICTIONARY. 

Maps and globe need not be highly expensive, but the globe should be 
substantial and the maps easily accessible and so arranged as to be prop- 
erly cared for. The eight-map sets put out by any of the approved com- 
panies are satisfactory, and there should be a good state map as well. 




District Xo. 63, Puwnee county. 



Many times great damage is done to such equipment by the failure of 
teacher or school board to give a few minutes to its repair when it first 
shows need. For instance, roller or protection rods are permitted to come 
off and the map is torn or thrown about, and is damaged more in a few 
weeks from neglect than from years of natural use. 

A dictionary of the grade of "Webster's New International" should be 
found in every schoolroom; and it would also be an excellent plan for 
pupils in fifth grade and above to possess their own small dictionaries for 
ordinary use. 

THERMOMETER. 

If the schoolroom is to be maintained at a proper temperature — 68 de- 
grees to 70 degrees — one can not depend upon his own physical sensation, 
and therefore a thermometer is necessary. 



Standai'dization of Rural Schools. 33 

SAND TABLE. 

A sand table is recommended because no other simple, inexpensive 
piece of school equipment contains more pleasing, concrete possibilities. 
Through this means the lower grades may be taught many of the essen- 
tial facts of geography, many things having direct relation to the lan- 
guage and nature work, and many things of real worth which will add life 
and interest to the school for the older pupils as well as for the younger. 
This is particularly so in "special day" observance. 

In geography, land and water forms, river and mountain systems and 
drainage, life in the arctics, in the tropics, and in desert regions can be 
impressively taught in this way. In language and story work, Indian 
life, the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, colonial life, the Christmas 
story, and a great many similar subjects may be made vividly alive 
through this valuable piece of schoolroom equipment. 

It may be constructed very cheaply, requiring only a cheap, strong 
table from two to three feet wide by three to five feet long. Where 
space permits the larger size is desirable, but a table two feet by four 
feet will serve very nicely. The height over all should be twenty-eight 
inches to thirty inches. The top of the table should form a box, from 
four to six inches deep, an inch or so more or less making no particular 
difference. Good, clean sand to the depth of two to four inches is placed 
in the box and it is ready for use. If a good cover is made for the box it 
will serve for a work table also, and the sand can thus be protected from 
dust. Teachers' magazines and other publications give many suggestions 
for its use. 

FUEL HOUSE. 

Where fuel is not stored in the basement a good, well-located fuel 
house is an economic necessity, and as such should be kept in good repair, 
made sightly by paint, and as conveniently placed as possible. But no 
fuel house need or should be placed in the front yard. Plenty of good 
fuel, easily accessible and well protected, plays an important part in the 
economy of time, comfort, and well-being of pupils and teacher; hence 
this requirement for a standardized school. 

OUTHOUSES. 

No one thing is of greater importance in respect to sanitary conditions 
and to moral and civic influence than the school outhouses, and no one 
thing is more neglected than these same buildings. Sometimes they are a 
distinct menace to both the health and morals of the school, if not of the 
community. 

So general is this neglected condition, not only in Kansas but else- 
where, that the rural-school toilet has been called a national disgrace. 
The remedy is too easily applied to permit such conditions to exist with- 
out remonstrance. 

Section 1, chapter 197 of the Laws of 1891, contains the following pro- 
vision: "The school boards and boards of education having supervision 
over any school district in this state shall provide and maintain suitable 
and convenient water-closets for each of the schools under their charge or 
supervision. There shall be at least two in number, which shall be en- 



34 



State Superintendent oi Public Instruction. 



tirely separate from each other. It shall be the duty of the officers afore- 
said to see that the same are kept in a neat and wholesome condition" 

The idea that the country is free from many of the conditions preju- 
dicial to health is so prevalent that the most ordinary precautions are 
often neglected and the most easily preventable menaces to healthful con- 
ditions are permitted to exist without an effort to remove them or with- 
out even the recognition of their existence. Because one has not been sick 
he acts upon the supposition that he never will be. There is need of an 
awakening in this matter and of setting an example of good sanitary 
measures on the school premises that shall spread like contagion itself 
and make itself felt in the homes of the district. 

The rural teacher, as well as the board, must take a more personal 
interest and must feel a greater responsibility in the care and condition 
of these buildings. No better opportunity for teaching civic pride, duty, 
and righteousness, as well as sanitary measures, will present itself dur- 




"Ash Grove," No. 6, Finney county. 



ing the school year than is afforded in this respect. No teacher has a right 
to try to avoid or escape the duty because it is an unpleasant or a delicate 
one. Its proper observance is a moral and physical safeguard. At least 
a weekly inspection of both toilets should be a routine matter. Their 
frequent cleaning should follow as a matter of course. In the rural 
school, where a regular janitor is both uncommon and hard to secure, the 
school board should see that the buildings are wholly acceptable at the 
beginning of the term, and the school itself should take pride in keeping 
them so throughout the school year if a water supply is at hand. This 
duty should be so distributed that it need mean nothing more than ten 
minutes time now and then from a group of pupils. The task should 
carry no stigma, for it is a public service. It will instill a respect for 
proper care and decency as nothing else can in this connection. Principles 
of sanitation and of conduct find practical expression — are translated into 
muscular activity; that is, they are experienced. 



standardization of Rural Schools. 



35 



As it is usually constructed the school closet is offensive to the sense 
of sight, of smell, and to the sense of decency. The vaults are poorly 
constructed or there are none. They are open to the flies from within and 
from without. The filth is spread by these pests ; it pollutes the soil ; and 
where care has not been taken in properly locating toilets and well in re- 
spect to each other it may be carried by surface drainage or by the water 
vein itself to the well. 

There are two or three simple plans of construction which are ac- 
ceptable for these buildings. The first of these, using the deep earth 
vault, can be safely used only when there is no possible chance of pollution 
of the water supply because the drainage is known to be in the opposite 
direction or because the distance between the well and building is great. 
Wells and toilets ought never to be nearer each other than one hundred 
feet. A greater distance is very desirable. Under such condition the 




District No. 51, Crawford county. 



common pit is acceptable if the building is carefully built, placed on a 
brick or concrete base, or is very closely banked so that no flies can enter 
the vault. The base is much preferred, as it is more permanent, prevent- 
ing decay of timbers and insuring closer construction. The vault should 
be ventilated by two small screened openings in sides or back of building 
below the seat, or by a ventilating flue from vault to roof. The seat itself 
must fit tightly and have hinged covers so attached that they will fall of 
their own weight when released. This may be secured easily by means of 
blocks attached to and projecting from walls behind the covers. 

The house should be lighted by one or two small-pane windows, or by 
slatted and screened openings. Mere openings will not suffice. Floors and 
seat fronts should be fly and water proof. Seats should not be too high. 
It would be better if one were lower than the other — about a foot high. 



36 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



The doors should fit and should swing freely. It is best if they swing 
shut of their own accord. This will insure better protection against 
storms and against trash and litter blowing into the buildings. The door 
should be furnished with fastenings. All toilets should have their en- 
trances screened or shielded from view by screens six feet to eight feet 
high, made of boards, lattice, or a thick clump of shrubbery. To protect 
the wall from writing, and somewhat from cutting, they should be 
painted within, and possibly without, with sand paint — ordinary paint 
with a liberal addition of medium coarse sand — or painted and sanded 
well while wet. Incidentally, the fuel house and all outbuildings should 
be painted to correspond with the schoolhouse, to make them less ugly 
and obtrusive. 




District No. 117, McPherson county. 



In cases where there is a real or very possible danger of contamination 
of the water supply, the vaults should be constructed of concrete or 
vitrified brick laid in good motor; or else the dry earth form of toilet 
is advisable. This latter consists of a strong, water-tight wooden or 
metal-lined box or drawer which is placed on heavy timbers to raise it 
from the ground under the seat and coming up fairly close to the seat. 
A close-fitting, hinged lift or drop door at the back permits its oc- 
casional removal for the emptying and burial of the contents in some 
accessible field — not a garden — or in some place where it can do no harm. 
Under no consideration should this excreta be left exposed on the surface 
of the ground. Handles on the box will facilitate its removal. 

Before being used three or four inches of road dust, finely pulverized 
field dirt, fine ashes, or slacked lime should be placed upon the bottom 
of the box. Then a covered barrel, a box, or better, a built-in covered bin 



StaiidardizaUoii of Rural Schools. 



37 




The past. 

of about a barrel capacity, of this material should be placed in each 
building, with scoop, small shovel, or cup holding a pint or more. After 
each use of the vault, a scoopful of the dry material should be deposited 
within it. This absorbs the moisture, destroys offensiveness in a large 




The present. 



38 



State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



measure, makes emptying and cleaning easier, and renders the vault less 
apt to draw and harbor flies. With the exception of the necessity of 
emptying occasionally, this form of toilet is one of the most sanitary 
and simple for either the school or the home where indoor toilets can not 
be had. Large garbage pails may be substituted for the box and, having 
covers, are preferable when removing; but they must be of liberal 
diameter and fit up quite near the seat. In all other particulars the closet 
should be constructed as previously described. If dust is used, a goodly 
supply should be laid in when it is easily obtainable so that there need be 
no lack in its use, as this is the chief merit of this style of closet. The 
three points to be observed for sanitation are the exclusion of flies, liberal 
use of dust, and the emptying and proper disposal of contents when the 
box is not more than three-fourths full. 

If desired, the boys' toilet may be provided with a urinal, either 
within the closet or in the open air within the shielded enclosure. The 




District No. 9, Russell county. 

latter provides better ventilation. The urinal will prevent much of the 
defilement of seat and floor that commonly occurs, but which should not 
be permitted. This trough, or basin and pipe, should be constructed of 
cement or of some noncorrodible, nonabsorbent metal or other substance. 
It should be about two feet high or a little more at the outer or higher 
end, sloping to about one foot at the lower end where it enters the vault. 
This affords a good fall or drainage. Careful connection with vault is 
necessary. 

WELL AND WATER SUPPLY. 

No school site should be chosen, except in extreme cases, upon which 
it is not possible to secure a well of pure water. Upon the absence or 
presence of a plentiful water supply depends largely the health and 
comfort of the school, the cleanliness of pupils and the formation of 
good habits by them, the tidiness and sanitary condition of the school- 
room and toilets, and the means of securing the growth of trees, shrubs, 



standardization of Rural Schools. 39 

and plants. Where a well is an impossibility there can and should be a 
cistern properly constructed and properly cared for. Cisterns can be 
made fairly satisfactory, but it requires much more care and attention 
to insure their purity than is the case with a natural source, such as a 
good well. Cisterns should be thoroughly cleaned before their use after 
a vacation period. When a school desires to have water analyzed, appli- 
cation should be made through the county health officer to the State 
Water and Sewage Laboratories, Lawrence, for a container. There is 
no charge for analysis except the express charge on the container from 
and to the laboratory. No water will be analyzed unless it is shipped 
in the special iced container furnished by the laboratory. If the well 
or cistern is so constructed as to admit surface water or seepage it is 
not worth while to have the water analyzed; it is certain to be contami- 
nated. The State Board of Health gives the following formula for main- 
taining the purity of cisterns: One level teasponful chloride of lime, 
thoroughly dissolved in a cup of water; add to a pail of water and let it 
stand until it settles. Pour off the clear portion and add it to a 100- 
barrel cistern or dug well. In the case of a well, it should be renewed 
every two or three weeks to insure protection. A cistern supplied from 
the roof should be provided with a good sand and charcoal filter and 
cut-off. 

Carrying water in an open pail from a neighboring well is neither an 
economical nor a sanitary method of supplying it. The pupils waste much 
valuable time in securing it; some of the wat^ is spilled on the way; 
it is polluted by dust, insects, and weed seeds; and it usually becomes 
warm before reaching the schoolhouse. When carried from home in jugs 
or bottles by pupils or teacher it may be pure enough, but frequently it 
must be used after becoming stale and flat. Under any of these condi- 
tions the supply is always wholly inadequate and unsatisfactory. 

The purity of the water supply is as important in respect to health as 
the purity of the air within the schoolroom and the consequences of neglect 
are often much more evident. There is a danger that the school supply 
may not be pure because it is used but a portion of the year. A well may 
and a cistern is almost certain to become stagnant. A yet greater danger 
lies in the fact that too little care is taken to see that the well does not 
become contaminated from surface drainage, improper covering in the 
case of dug wells, and from proximity to privies and barnyards. The 
well should not be within one hundred feet of any privy or any other 
source of contamination, and should not be placed on a slope below a 
possible source of contamination from surface drainage or from the 
natural water vein itself. There should be good drainage away from the 
well; a pipe or other suitable carrier should conduct off the surplus water 
to a distance of about twenty feet, so that there will be no puddles about 
the well. Dug wells should be protected to a depth of from two to four 
feet and a similar distance from the wall by a sloping cement coping to 
prevent the entrance of drainage water, insects, burrowing animals, etc. 
The well cover should be dust- and waterproof to insure protection against 
dust, germs, and filth carried to the platform by the wind and upon the 



40 State Superintendeiit of Public Instruction. 



i.<t' id 





-»*i 



le ... ■" i 




standardization of Rural Schools. 



41 



feet, and which otherwise would be washed into the well by the water 
pumped and spilled upon the platform. 

A driven well, if it is a deep one, is always to be preferred to a dug 
well. Shallow driven wells are no more safe than dug wells of the same 
depth, except that they more readily prevent contamination from without. 

The common drinking cup has been banished, but in its stead has 
come the individual drinking cups which, as found in the schoolroom, are 
but slightly less objectionable. This is particularly ti'ue where there is 
no adequate means of cleansing and caring for them properly or even of 
preventing their indiscriminate use. If cups seem necessary and they are 
not brought from home daily, a suitable receptacle, closed cupboard, or 
shelves should be provided where they may be protected from dust. They 
should be thoroughly washed and scalded at frequent intervals and every 




District No. 14, Pawnee county. 



care possible exercised that they may not be used promiscuously. To re- 
move these objections there is but one fully satisfactory means — some 
sort of a drinking fountain. This may be made possible by the force 
pump and pressure tank, or much more simply by a container in which 
the water is forced up through the fountain cup by the weight of the 
water itself, or gravity. The overflow is carried off through a small pipe 
to a waste-water receptacle. The tank should permit of ready cleaning 
and emptying. Such a vessel filled once or twice daily would insure 
water free from dust and the impurities of the air and would obviate the 
necessity of cups. The bubbler, or fountain part, should be of such a 
nature that the stream only, and not the mouthpiece itself, can come in 
contact with the mouth. Be sure also that the waste bowl around the 



42 



State Superintendent of •Public Instruction. 



bubbler is large enough to catch the overflow nicely. Several satisfactory 
drinking fountains are being placed on the market; but if such a bubbling 
fountain can not be had, some sort of a water tank or closed container 
should replace the open bucket. 

ORGANIZATION. 

The organization of the rural school requires the grouping of pupils 
into classes where each can do his best work, the planning of a daily pro- 
gram that will provide the maximum of time for recitation and the prep- 
aration of lessons, the assignment of duties so that both pupil and 
teacher may work to the best advantage, and, permeating all, a spirit of 
interest in the work that will reduce problems of discipline to the mini- 
mum. Faithful adherence to the course of study is essential. The daily 




District No. 124, Sedgwick county. 

program ought, even if all grades are represented, to contain no more 
than twenty-five recitation periods, and more than thirty should not be 
permitted. This will be possible only through a careful plan of altera- 
tion, as suggested in the course of study. The teacher's records will be 
accurate and well kept, and all required reports will be made promptly. 

A well-organized school implies habits of regular and punctual at- 
tendance, and the proper functioning of school activities into the life of 
the community. Regular meetings of teacher and school board, parents' 
meetings, and community gatherings of various kinds do much to de- 
velop a genuine school spirit and bring about the wholesome cooperation 
of the several community interests in matters pertaining to the welfare 
of the school. 



standardization of Rural Schools. 43 

The small school is, as a rule, both expensive and inefficient, and a 
minimum of at least ten pupils should be maintained for best results. 

THE TEACHER. 

"Like teacher, like school." Since, no matter how good the building, 
how complete the equipment, or how perfect the sanitary and hygienic 
conditions, no school can be a good one unless it is directed by a good 
teacher, certain requirements are established for those employed as 
teachers in schools which are or which hope to be recognized as "standard 
schools." Other things being equal, those possessing the best mental and 
professional qualifications should be the best teachers. But experience 
and plain common sense also count for so much that no one is barred 
as teacher in such schools except the holder of a third-grade certificate 
or the holder of a second-grade certificate who has had less than four 
years of high-school training. However, neither the nature of the cer- 
tificate nor the length of teaching experience insures efficiency. There- 
fore the teacher in a "standard school" must be one ranked by the 
county superintendent as very good or superior. Any district wishing to 
have its school recognized as standard would do well to assure itself that 
the teacher is properly qualified. Such a one will help to build up, while 
a teacher of a different type may counteract much of the good that has 
already been accomplished. 

"The laborer is worthy of his hire." If the teacher must be good she 
must be assured of a fair wage. Conditions differ greatly in different 
parts of the state, and no fixed salary can be established for all localities. 
It seems fair to all alike to say that the teacher of a standard school must 
receive at least the average salary paid in the county; and where the 
average is less than $385 per year she must receive at least this amount. 
No teacher can be of the best, no matter what her mental attainments or 
schoolroom success, unless she is fully alive to her duty and to responsi- 
bility to the county superintendent and to the school interests of the 
county as a whole. Therefore the demand is made that the teacher of a 
"standard school" shall be one who does participate in teachers' associa- 
tions, does read professional literature, does readily comply with all 
reasonable requests and requirements of the county superintendent, and 
does strive at all times to manifest a proper professional spirit. 



44 State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 




INDEX. 

page 

Approaches 16 

Blackboards 25 

Bookcase 30 

Cleanliness 27 

Cloakrooms 22 

Decorations 23 

Desks 28 

Dictionary 32 

Flag, display of 21 

Fuel house 33 

Globe , 32 

Heating 26 

Library 30 

Lighting 21 

Maps 32 

Organization 42 

Outhouses 33 

Pictures 23 

Report of rural supervisors 5 

Sand table 33 

Schoolhouse 17 

School site 15 

Seating 28 

Standard Rural Schools — 

Bulletin 14 

Requirements 5 

Superior Schools 3 

Sweeping preparation 28 

Teacher 43 

Teacher's desk and chair 28 

Trees and shrubs 16 

Ventilation 26 

Walls and ceiling 24 

Water supply 38 

Well 38 

Window shades 22 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 158 741 8 



